Reddin appointed Director of Rugby and Elite Performance for Wales
Written by
Simon Austin
April 25, 2025
Former England Head of Team Strategy and Performance Dave Reddin has been appointed Director of Rugby and Elite Performance for the Welsh Rugby Union.
Reddin, who was our guest on Episode Four of the TGG Podcast, will oversee the men’s and women’s professional senior game in Wales following the departure of Executive Director of Rugby Nigel Walker in December 2024.
“I am delighted and honoured to be joining Welsh rugby at such a pivotal time in the rich history of the game here,” Reddin said. “This is one of the biggest jobs in world rugby because of the passion and meaning the game has in Wales.
“There are well documented challenges but I’m inspired by the very real potential implicit in the new vision and strategy.
“My immediate focus is on the appointment of the next senior men’s Head Coach. But I will also be immersing myself in gaining an understanding of the people and the game in Wales as quickly as possible to give me the insight to start to make positive changes for the future.”
WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said she was “delighted” that Reddin was joining the organisation.
“Dave brings a level of expertise and experience in directly relevant elite sporting environments unmatched around the globe,” she said. “We know the whole game in Wales will reap the benefits of this appointment.
“We looked at a wide range of candidates for this position and I would like to thank all the people who expressed their interest and all individuals who have offered advice and counsel on who would be the best person for this job.
“Without exception, everyone I have consulted about Dave has given a glowing recommendation and we know we have achieved a real coup by persuading him to join us.”
Performance leader
Reddin is one of the most experienced and successful performance leaders in sport. He was Fitness Coach for England Rugby under Sir Clive Woodward from 1997 to 2006, helping the team win the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
From 2008 to 2012 he was Director of Performance Services for Team GB, including at the London 2012 Olympics. And in 2014 he took on the position of Head of Performance Services for The Football Association, before being promoted to Head of Team Strategy and Performance in 2016.
Under Reddin there was a revolution in performance services for the England senior and youth teams, which then led to a period of unprecedented success on the world stage.
Speaking on the TGG Podcast, Reddin remembered: “Coming in, it was a big governing body that had lost its way in terms of its role in elite performance. It was stuck a little bit in the mindset of ‘we don’t see the players very much, so there’s very little we can do’.
“If we take support services, I think we had 14 full-time employees across every support discipline and 10 of those were analysts who had moved over from Loughborough University. We had Ian Beasley heading up medicine, Gary Lewin as men’s physio, Tracy Lewis as women’s physio, John Iga doing some stuff around sport science.
“We had no psychology support, no nutrition, and most of the other services were provided by consultants who would pitch up for a camp and then disappear again, we had no connection to them.
“With our coaching set-up, many of the full-time national coaches wore two hats. Someone like John Peacock, who was very successful, was running the Pro Licence and the Under-17s.
“One of my headlines would have been we weren’t structurally set up for success in terms of investment, structure and the people who would enable you to deliver that target.”
In club football, Reddin was part of a management team who led the acquisition and transformation of third tier Spanish football club, CD Castellon, helping creating the circumstances for their promotion to the second tier.
Tough task
As Reddin said, one of his first tasks in his new role will be to help appoint a permanent Head Coach to replace Warren Gatland, who left during the Six Nations.
Wales’ men have lost a record 17 Tests in succession, a run they will aim to halt when they play a two-match series in Japan in July.
The national women’s side have so far lost all four 2025 Six Nations matches and will complete their campaign against Italy on Sunday.
Reddin will join the WRU full time from 1 September but will progressively increase his involvement from the beginning of July.
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